The Transport Logistic Messe trade fair in Munich offers the latest insight into innovative products, systems and technology in logistics, transport, IT and supply chain. Municipality of Venlo was invited to act as a partner of the Limburg Stand, an initiative of ELC Limburg, Industriebank LIOF and Supply Chain Valley, which has existed since 2017, during the fair. This year, 18 Limburg partners presented themselves here.
Venlo played an indispensable role at this fair. As one of the most important logistics hotspots in the Netherlands and Europe, Venlo is a vibrant hub of innovation and efficiency. Alderman Erwin Boom: "The central location on the west-east axis as a connection between major port cities such as Rotterdam and Antwerp on the one hand and the German (and European) hinterland on the other, with several airports nearby, among others, plays an important role in this. Our road accessibility from the A73, A74, A67 and the E34 is good and also connects us directly to Germany."
During the fair, Alderman Boom had the chance to stress the importance of Venlo as a logistics hotspot and to talk to numerous entrepreneurs in a short period of time. "If government, we underline the importance of the logistics sector with our physical presence at this fair. The is an excellent opportunity, after the corona period, to reinvigorate the logistics sector, broaden our perspective and establish new contacts with entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions and administrators from municipalities and logistics regions. Although we are participating in an international trade fair, as a municipality we put emphasis on attracting companies from our region. The Maintaining this network is crucial for Venlo's economic profile in logistics, one of our main economic pillars."
The councillor welcomed the positive response from entrepreneurs to the municipality's participation in the fair. "Entrepreneurs appreciate our active involvement as a government and the fact that we support the logistics sector," he said. The seems increasingly reluctant to recognise the importance of the logistics sector. That is a pity, because as someone once aptly said, 'Logistics is the engine of the economy.' Logistics are needed wherever economic activity takes place, such as in the manufacturing industry, the agricultural sector, healthcare and so on. Moreover, in Venlo, a large proportion of our residents work in this sector. Retrieved from Venlo's business parks employ 40,000 people, with these figures highlighting the essence of the logistics sector for Venlo, and as a municipality we are therefore proud to contribute to its promotion."
The economy on the move
Alderman Boom explains that the heart of Venlo's logistics sector originated from and grew through the efforts of local family businesses, which saw the city's favourable geographical location as an opportunity to further develop logistics. "These families are still very successful today and contribute to Venlo as a logistics hotspot," Boom said. So Ewals was at the fair with a unique duo trailer truck combination. It emits 30 per cent less CO2 than a regular truck. The Cabooter Group became the very first company in Europe to commission an electrically powered reachstacker from Swedish company Kalmar in the week after the fair. "I am proud that the logistics sector in Venlo has a strong presence, makes wonderful achievements in our municipality and presents itself at this leading world fair," the councillor said.
Innovation
The Transport Logistic Messe trade fair also provides a unique opportunity for new companies to present themselves to the many (international) exhibitors and visitors present. Funs Swinkels is CEO of the company Logichainge, based at the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, which he founded last year with the help of Genzai; an Innovation company operating in the artificial intelligence (AI) market. Logichainge uses AI solutions for transport processes, automatically importing information from e-mail, PDF, Word and Excel to TMS systems. This results in significant time savings for companies, allowing them to do more business with the same number of people.
Swinkels: "Participating in the fair is a unique and effective opportunity to present yourself, establish your name and make a lot of contacts in a short time. Our network strengthened by the fair can help us realise our vision: to be the leading player in Europe in Roadfreight software solutions within five years." Boom added: "Logichainge is a good example of the fact that Venlo-based logistics companies are not just forwarders or carriers, but also have subject-matter expertise that many other companies can benefit from."
Strengthen foundations
The Venlo municipality is actively committed to promoting innovative developments within its core economic sectors, including the logistics sector. Boom: "In Venlo, we continue to work continuously to strengthen the base of our logistics sector. With attention to infrastructure, highways, waterways, the current expansion of our Barge Terminal and the further development of our port area to strengthen inland navigation in our municipality, we are going to further strengthen our logistics strength in the coming years."
| The Transport Logistic Messe trade fair in Munich has taken place since 1978 and is the world's largest trade fair for logistics, transport, IT and supply chain. This year, the fair saw 2,320 exhibitors present and over 75,000 visitors. With totalling 127,000 square metres of exhibition space, the ten halls and the outdoor track system were fully booked. Of the 2,320 exhibitors, 1,390 came from abroad - a record 60 per cent share. The top ten exhibitor countries after Germany were the Netherlands, followed second by Italy, Belgium, France, Austria, China, Turkey, Spain, Poland and Britain. |
www.venlo.nl | www.logichainge.com
